Calendar
by FrozenBrokenSunflower
Summary: Abandoned in the cold land of Russia at 10 years old, Yao wanders the streets to survive. During one of his idle walks, he stumbles upon the concert of a talented and passionless piano prodigy, Ivan Braginsky. Captivated, and without a plan, he steals a ride on the back of his carriage, finding himself in front of the biggest mansion he has ever seen. Rochu


Calendar, Chapter 1

_Abandoned in the cold land of Russia at 10 years old, Yao wanders the streets to survive. During one of his idle walks, he stumbles upon the concert of a talented and passionless piano prodigy, Ivan Braginsky. Captivated, and without a plan, he steals a ride on the back of his carriage. Finding himself in front of the biggest mansion he has ever seen. _

* * *

Elaborately composed melodies rang loudly in wind bitten ears. Yao found himself brushing the tangled locks of his hair away as he attended a piano concert. One that he just happened to stumble upon during one of his idle walks. Aside from pick-pocketing, learning Russian, and the occasional- yet necessary act of stealing, Yao didn't have much to busy himself with. So he remained in place, detached from the superfluously dressed crowd.

Even from afar, Yao could make out the features of the pianist's face. Nothing stood out too much; many people in this land had similar features. He was handsome, nevertheless. There was something strange about his expression. It held little to no passion, aloof and seemingly uninterested in the piece. That bothered Yao. He had always remembered pianists as people passionate and engrossed in their craft. The one on stage was the complete opposite of what he believed a player of his skill would look like.

The listeners didn't seem to mind, nor notice the lack of expression in his face. The crowd was captivated by the pianist who possessed the largest hands and the most graceful fingers Yao had ever seen. The petite woman in the front, with long, champagne coloured hair, seemed especially charmed by the performer. Now that Yao thought about it, he could remember seeing that particular musician on a poster in store windows; most of the time they were on the richer stores.

Building up from a hushed tone, the piece became rapidly louder. Yao held his breath as he anticipated the end of the song. The powerful sounds elicited from the instrument echoed through the snow covered lands like a wretched disease racing to end its prey.

The piece did not end.

In fact, it carried on, louder and faster. The pianist that elicited such precise, veloce sounds, and still looked unchanged. Yao grit his teeth, he had a strong urge to find why this prodigy acted like this. A couple plans swirled around in his mind, Yao was determined to figure him out. He wasn't entirely sure how, but his sudden burst of determination made him blind to that fact.

Fidgeting from impatience, Yao slowly made his way towards the carriage that would ferry the arrogant looking pianist home. He figured no one would really notice him quietly boarding it from the back, as opposed to following the fancy thing. Unnoticed by the listeners, he stood there eagerly. Yao nearly grinned as he heard the piece start to fade from its fulgurant, loud section to what he presumed was the end.

Despite Yao's intentions for the piece to end faster, the pianist took his time with the ending. While waiting, Yao glanced at the flaxen haired girl again; her once serene expression seemed to have turned somewhat sad. Yao could see her more clearly now. Her eyes were sharp and determined and her lips in a thin line. Despite how cold she looked, her eyes rested upon the young composer with such adoration.

Finally after what seemed hours of tardigrade playing, the piece finally uttered its final chords. The pianist sat there after placing his hands on his lap. The crowd roared with applause, and just the slightest notion of a smile was shown on the performer's face. During the applause, he stood up, and bowed. Yao blinked a couple of times, taking in his full height. He figured the pianist would be somewhat tall, but not this tall...

For now, Yao could only imagine what he would look like next to him. The girl Yao had noticed before extended her thin hand up towards him. The pale limb held a slightly wilting sunflower. The tall composer smiled, shaking his head as he took the thing. The two exchanged a few words, before he walked off the stage. A brunette escorted him to his carriage.

Yao tensed, getting ready to make his move. The crowd started to disperse, as the house of the prodigy was in the opposite direction of their own houses. Along with the tall pianist, the brunette, and a neat-looking man with glasses got in. A short boy, probably around Yao's age, sat in the front and held the reins. Yao on the other hand, silently got on the back of the carriage, curling up as small as he could while still holding on. He had a feeling this driver wasn't the best.

With his heart beating faster than that pianist could play, he waited. Yao looked around from his spot. From this angle, no one could really see that he was hitching a ride on the back. Luckily, there was no window or opening in the back of the carriage, in which one of the passengers could look behind. Suddenly, the carriage took off.

Being a beggar, Yao had hitched rides on carriages before. He just didn't do it very frequently; due to the fact that he usually didn't know where the carriage would go, and the possibility that someone could find out, he tended to stay away from doing it. He closed his eyes, and gripped the carriage tightly. His ribbon was on the verge of flying away, but he still kept both hands on the wooden structure.

Yao had never rode a carriage this fast. Many times was he in danger of possibly falling off, but the horrid ride finally came to an end. The boy in the front, quickly got off of his seat and opened the carriage door. Yao held his breath, hoping they wouldn't check the back of the carriage for some reason. While he was waiting, he could hear the hushed whisper of what he thought was the driver. Roughly translating what he said as, "The boss must have gained weight." Yao would have giggled if he wasn't trying to stay unnoticed.

The four of them went inside. Yao stayed where he was for a while just to be safe. After he assumed no one was there, he got off of his perch. Peering from behind of the carriage, he examined the snow covered mansion. Behind him was an iron gate and fence. From where he was, the drapes seemed to be closed. Taking a deep breath, he scurried over to one of the bushes under the windowsill.

At this moment, he congratulated himself for getting this far. He was now presented with the task of finding out what he was going to do next. Before he could though, the tall man from before, and the brunette walked out of the house. Yao froze, trying to become as small as possible. Lucky for Yao, the untrimmed bushes camouflaged him well.

From what he could make out, they were going out for a drink, or something along the lines of that.

Yao felt kind of relieved that the pianist would be leaving. As soon as they were gone, he got an his messy hair with his hands, then fixing his red ribbon, he stood up in front of the door. Brushing the snow, and other debris that might have been stuck on him, he raised his cold hand up to the door. Exhaling, he knocked, gathering what he would say.

"Did you forget-"

The blonde with glasses looked down, stunned. He examined Yao for a quick moment.

"Did you climb the fence?" he questioned quickly, looking outside.  
Yao shook his head, and responded slowly, "No, I got on the back of your carriage..."  
The man in front of him looked puzzled, "Why?"  
"I, uh... Wondered if... I could play on one of your pianos." Yao said, cursing himself for not thinking of something better to say.  
"Are you a beggar?" he said after thinking for a moment.  
"Y-Yes..."

After what seemed like ages, the man finally replied, "Come on in then."  
"R-Really?" Yao was surprised. He was 99% sure that he would close the door.  
"Oh, of course. The boss has plenty of money, plenty of rooms," he looked at Yao with a charming smile, "and plenty of pianos."  
"Won't he get mad?" he questioned, following him through the lavishly decorated inside of the mansion.  
"Maybe... That is, if he finds out."  
"O-Oh," was all Yao could reply.

"Ravis!" he called, stopping in the kitchen.  
"What is it?" a small, almost girly voice called from someplace in the huge house.  
"Come here!" he ordered.

The blonde turned around, looking pleased with himself.

"I'm Eduard by the way."  
"I'm Yao..."  
"Were you born here?" Eduard questioned, looking over Yao a bit more thoroughly this time.  
"No, I was born in China, but my parents abandoned me here... I'm not sure why," Yao said while looking down at his torn shoes.  
"... I see. Well, that explains why you can't speak Russian too fluently," he observed.  
"Y-Yeah, sorry about that," he apologized, blushing slightly.  
"Oh no, it's not your fault. You'll get fluent in it eventually," Eduard reassured him.

"Oh, hello, miss," the curly haired boy said while bowing a bit.  
"I'm a boy," Yao corrected, smiling at the gesture.  
"O-Oh... I'm sorry."  
"No, it's fine. It happens to me a lot."

Yao was not lying. People thought he was a girl all the time, the dirty ribbon he received from one generous lady was proof of it.

"Ravis, this is Yao. He's going to be staying here from now on." Eduard said, gesturing to Yao, "Run a bath, fetch him some of your clothes, and make the loft in your room a bed for him."  
"Follow me," Ravis politely said, asking no further questions.  
Yao looked at Eduard for a moment, who in turn nodded.

Following Ravis up the carpeted stairs, he suddenly felt so out of place. His clothes had holes, and were beyond the term, "raggedy", not to mention he probably didn't smell too good either. Ravis didn't seem to mind though, he had a lovely smile on his face while walking up the stairs.

"Are you from China?" Ravis questioned, as they trudged up the long staircase.  
"Yes..."  
"I'm from Latvia, my parents moved here but they... They were killed somehow."  
"O-oh... I'm sorry to hear that."  
"It's okay. Toris is like my mom, and Eduard or Ivan act as my dad. You see, Toris nags me a lot, but he also bakes us cookies... In fact, he bakes all the meals."  
"That sounds nice. Toris is the one with brown hair, right?"  
"Yup."

They got to the top of the stairs, and Ravis happily led Yao to his room.

"So why are you here anyways?" he asked while going off to run a bath for Yao.  
"I just wanted to play a piano after seeing your boss play," Yao lied, while looking around the spacious room.  
"Oh? Do you know how to play?"  
"I play by ear. Though I used to take lessons back in China."  
"I see, well, you can once we get you washed up and in some decent clothes," he said while flashing a smile at Yao.  
"T-Thank you."

Yao sat there, overwhelmed. Everything seemed to happen so fast. Just a minute ago he was just listening to the pianist play...

"The bath is ready! You won't mind if I throw away your old clothes, right?" Ravis questioned, smiling at him from the doorway.  
"No... Not at all," Yao replied, trying to hold back a smile.  
"Well, you can just throw them on the floor when you're about to get in, and I'll get rid of them for you."  
"O-Okay."

Yao walked into the foggy bathroom, admiring the warm looking bath in front of him. After removing his clothes, and tossing them on the floor like Ravis directed him to, he sunk into the steaming water. A part of him wanted to soak in the bath for hours, but another part said he should hurry up and get dressed. It felt so good around his cold skin though. It had been years since he had a bath like this.

"Is the bath okay?" Ravis asked while picking up his discarded clothes.  
"Oh it's fine, thank you,"Yao replied, while sitting up.  
"Here's your new clothes, I think we're about the same size," he said while placing a set of clothes on a chair.  
"Thank you..."

Yao decided he would hurry up, so he could talk to Ravis about what was going to happen.

"Uh, Ravis."  
"Yes?"  
"I'm done..."  
"Just a minute."

Yao sighed, not wanting to get out of the pleasant bath just yet. He just wanted to get out so he could get filled in on the situation. Everything was happening so quickly- and unexpectedly, for that matter. He wondered how the boss would react to him... If he ever got to meet him, that is. Then there was the task of leaving. He couldn't just stay in this house forever.

Maybe he would only stay here for one day. That seemed about right. Yao felt bad, and a little silly. Perhaps this is what they thought he initially came for... All he could do right now, was hope everything went okay, because there was no well thought out plan. The only Plan B was going back to being beggar.

"Yao?"  
"Y-Yes?" he answered, noticing the water had gotten significantly cooler.  
"Here's a towel, Eduard has some food for you downstairs."  
"O-Oh, thank you," he replied, taking the towel.

Yao hurriedly dried and dressed himself in the provided clothes. They were much warmer, and softer than his old clothes. Yao smiled as he examined himself, the clothes fit rather nicely.

"Oh! I'm glad they fit! I made you a makeshift bed up in that loft. You can get there with this ladder," he said while gesturing to the tall ladder.  
Again, all Yao could say was 'thank you'.

* * *

After making his way back downstairs, he sat down at the table. Which to his delight, was filled with enough food to probably last a beggar like him a week. The best part was, he could eat all of it right now. He thanked Eduard for the meal, and began to eat, with both of the blondes sitting down at the table watching him. Yao tired to pace himself; he was just _so_ hungry that he actually had to think about how fast he was eating, and besides, when else would he get an opportunity like this?

"So why did you take me in...? I don't think I've ever heard of a beggar being taken in by a rich family," he asked.  
"Well... We could use the extra hands, and of course there was the factor of pity."  
"I see. Well, I do want to repay your generosity, so I'll do whatever chore you need me to," Yao replied, finishing his food.  
Eduard smiled, "Do you want to go play the piano now?"  
"S-Sure, but a question, when do you think your boss will be back? He shouldn't know I'm here, right?"  
"Ah... He shouldn't be back until late, he can hold his liquor well. When he does come, we'll send you up to Ravis' room and you can stay up in the loft," he replied, standing up.  
"I see," Yao smiled. He still could not wrap his mind around why they were being so nice. He could remember laughing with one of his friends that kind rich people didn't exist. Yet here he was, in the elaborate home of probably one of the richest man around.

"Well, follow me then. I'll show you where the pianos are," he said while walking out of the kitchen.

Yao obeyed, following him. He observed the dimly lit hallway, the portraits of Ivan, the pianist. That was what Ravis said his name was, right?  
"Um, Eduard. If you don't mind me asking, I'd like to know what the name of the pianist or your boss is," Yao said, while trying to keep up with Eduard's long strides.  
"Ivan. Ivan Braginsky. Piano prodigy at the age of 10. Started composing around a few years after that. Parents are dead. He's not married, though he has many suitors. Don't know what he's waiting for though."  
"Oh. I see, thank you," he replied, processing all the information.

Eduard stopped at a door down the hall, fishing out some keys, then opened the door. Even with barely any light, Yao could see the beautiful pianos in that room. He couldn't tell how many, but there was certainly more than 5.

The room was lit, and Yao's jaw practically dropped at the number of pianos.

"Ravis dusts these pianos every week," Eduard explains while sitting down on a bench.  
"Oh my..." Yao said while looking around at all of them.  
"Well, go on then, play," Eduard ordered expectantly.

Yao quickly chose a piano, not wanting to disappoint the generous man. For some odd reason, he was shaking. Perhaps it was because he hadn't touched a piano in years. Or maybe because the piece Ivan composed was too hard for him?

Nevertheless, he took a deep breath, and tapped Middle C. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember how the piece went. He slowly played the main melody with his right hand. Yao smiled a bit, playing a bit more. Remembering more and more of the piece as he played. It was as if an old flame had been relit. He used to be so good at the piano. Yao could remember when he would play all night until the sun came up, and his mom would shake her head as she ordered him to go get some sleep.

It just didn't make sense why they abandoned him in Russia.

He always thought he was a good child. Yao always obeyed what his parents said, never did bad in school... After 3 years of being in this country, he still couldn't figure out why. There were thoughts of going back to find them, but if he could barely survive in the town, how would he make it all the way back to his hometown?

At that moment, the piece no longer rang through his ears. His fingers stopped playing and slumped down on the keys, eliciting an ugly chord.

"I don't remember anymore..."

He looked at Eduard, who sat there smiling.

"You're quite good."

Suddenly, there was a voice. Yao couldn't identify who it was, but he had a feeling it wasn't a good thing.

"Eduard! You said you couldn't play the piano! Why do I hear my Concerto being played..."

As soon as Yao heard the last few utterings of that voice, he turned pale, and so did Eduard. He was about to hide behind a piano, but a tall figure already walked in.

"Who is this?"

* * *

So I'm back with a New Fic...  
Reviews are appreciated! Also, you get to choose what the rating is. M for smut, or T for no smut.


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